1995.2021 Text on work
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2021. Zeitgeist / New Silence An orientation on Human Ecology and Frequency. ‘I am a fish, a plant, a human, a horse’ The history of water guides the soul’s passage to the milky way.Human body is 70 percent of water and water is able to memorize and transport information. Words are an expression of the soul and have influence.
The individual and society make up an enormous ocean. By adding our individual drops to this ocean, we participate in the formation of society.
The space that grief, generates its mark by the absence of words.OM
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2019.2020. Not Alone/ project New Silence
Human Ecology, a research on, ‘The Allegory of the Cave’, presented by the Greek philosopher Plato’s cave (514a-520a)
To equate the effect of education on ecology verses interpersonal archetype frequencies.(2019/2020).OM
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Title of work: ‘SAN NICOLAS’ (Saint Nicolas) Solo exposition. Dream time Stories of a Saint of sailors, children and researchers, Human nature in conversation with time. A dialogue on historical and contemporary research.
2016-2017/ Solo exposition. A dialogue on historical and contemporary research. The artwork ‘SAN NICOLAS’ (Saint Nicolas) is a follow up research and extension of a community art project ‘The Bleau Garden’ installed at B.v/d Veen Zeppenfeld straat 6, San Nicolas. This artwork installation took place parallel with the art fair event during the 16th until the 18th of September 2016. This installation spoke about the sense of familiar, informal exchange of ideas, heart to heart conversations on everyday‘s life, cultural boundaries, passionate spirituality, unfamiliar cultural borders and a complex historical Caribbean community. The story represented a family and their children that immigrated from Dominica,1850 Mr.and Mrs. John Bleau and Clemant Bleau Noel parents of Mr. Augustin Bleau (6.6.1909 -17.4.1983) married to Mrs Pamelia Abrahams (18.7.1922-17.7.1962). Daughter Lilian Blue (17.7.1962). Mr.Augustin Bleau left Dominica during 1923, as a young boy of 14. He traveled for a new future and immigrated in Aruba as a British citizen. Mr.Bleau, a man of not many words with an entrepreneurial culture, with a positive and progressive spirit, thinking big and reading Time magazine, soon made financial risk in hope of profits buying a building on B. v/d Veen Zeppenfeldstraat 6 in the centrum of San Nicolas, Aruba. Mr.Augustin Bleau was self made business man. His moto was “e pais cu ta dunabo di come b mester repete” You should respect the country who provides you with food ’. Dominica, 1850 Family Mr.and Mrs. John Bleau and Clemant Bleau, Family photograph courtesy of Mrs. Lilian Bleau – grand daughter. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Invitation In 2017 Art curator and art critic Renwick Heronimo, FMA Fundacion muceo Arubano- project ‘San Nicolas Aesthetic
San Nicolas (Saint Nicolas).Continuing the research on the concept of ‘San Nicolas’, I found out that San Nicolas is a saint that protects the sailors, children and researchers. I believe it was a magic concept because San Nicolas’s community is passionate on religion, spirituality and beautiful historical stories between the ocean and the sky. San Nicolas was a very well known saint all over the world and in Aruba to. I immediately wanted to create a magic garden, a place where human nature can go in conversation with time. Renwick introduced me with the space I could make this dream come true. I started to measure my idea and mostly the idea is larger in fantasy than the space available. In the mean time the idea started talking to me; a Saint in conversation with the invisible and the voiceless. A name representing human nature. A story, of a tree that loves his dog so much that it asked its leaves to give birth to a flower. A flower that would protect the dog from rain, sun and strong winds. Each one of the leaves said, yes‟ we will bare a flower together with a choir of birds that will also bare fruits for a hundred years of harvest and a hundred more to take care of the dog as the tree cares for its leaves. The tree graciously danced for the dog. The leaves took the dog carefully by the branches, to an old branch that by the years turned into gold. A branch that could stretch to the far sea, where you could see children waiting on the ships to pass by. The tree, the dog and its beautiful flower kept staring on top of the golden branch to see the Sun rise as it kept them looking at its beauty forever and ever……. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2016-2017 / Human nature in conversation with time Memory can experience past, present and future dreams. What experience or knowledge is stored in long-term memory can be retrieved again. Memories are texts and pictures in the mind and as such form part of the declarative memory. Art has the ability to bend, angle, flex, curve, hook, loop shift, tack, turn twist, time. Slow it down and wander through it. That is precisely why Art provides a framework within which we can look at time. Time is something of daily life much at once. We look constantly at the clock, masterly imposing our lives, pushing forward and tracking collectively, running like clocks, marking what to do, and what it exactly makes us escape. In time everything rotates around time. We hardly think about how time is a mirror of Being. There were not always clocks, calendars and seconds. There was only one way where one watched time trough, ‘Nature. The sun coming up every day and going down again, the seasons change, the plants grow. Little more than a circle, repeating of events. This rhythm is increasingly framed and named. A system established in words, terms and standards. Time is a wonderful thing and in my eyes something that we will never fully get a grip on. The system of years, days, seconds, clocks and calendars is not time. Even the time of a moment, that we often think is a flexible notion, is set at 90 seconds to be exact. All these developments are just an attempt to grasp the sense of the circle of time. For the clock may say that only 7even minutes have passed and the truth is that 200 years have gone by. 2016-2017/ Dream time Stories of a Saint of sailors, children and researchers.San Nicolas, a saint of sailors, children and researchers.A Saint that transmutes experience into believes, human nature into stories. A Saint that speaks of the invisible and the voiceless A name that takes care of each other A word that sounds. „Esta dushi pa sinta den un mondi di dulcura schuchando cancionan di silencio blaachinan conversando di luz den un brisa di perfume di fruta mi amigo eterno banda mi semper naturalesa lo dicidi e salto pa lama of cielo define esta dushi tempo sirbi‟ San Nicolaas is an industrial city near the ocean. It was a bustling company town, when Lago Oil and Transport Company opened its oil refinery in 1924 until 1985.In 1991 Coastal Corporation reopened the oil refinery until 1995.Valero in 2010 and Citco in 2017. San Nicolaas was named after a Mr. Nicolas van der Biest (1808–1873), who owned a big piece of the land there. Landowners were then addressed by their subordinates by their first names preceded by ‘Shon’ meaning ‘master’. So he was called ‘Shon Nicolas’, as was the area. It is thought that the change from Shon Nicolas to San Nicolaas was due to the influence of Spanish. (refr.Dr. J Hartog, Aruba’s historian and Aruba Tourism Authority). OM Saint Nicolas life’s story,The church of San Nicolò al Lido(Venice), hosts half of Nicolas’ relics.On 26 August 1071 Romanus IV, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (reigned 1068–1071), faced Sultan Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks (reigned 1059–1072) in the Battle of Manzikert. The battle ended in humiliating defeat and capture for Romanus. As a result, the Empire temporarily lost control over most of Asia Minor to the invading Seljuk Turks. The Byzantines would regain its control over Asia Minor during the reign of Alexius I Comnenus (reigned 1081–1118). But early in his reign Myra was overtaken by the Turks. Nicholas’ tomb in Myra had become a popular place of pilgrimage. Because of the many wars and attacks in the region, some Christians were concerned that access to the tomb might become difficult. For both the religious and commercial advantages of a major pilgrimage site, the Italian cities of Venice and Bari vied to get the Nicholas relics.[3] Taking advantage of the confusion, in the spring of 1087, sailors from Bari in Apulia seized part of the remains of the saint from hisburial church in Myra, over the objections of the Greek Orthodox monks. Returning to Bari, they brought the remains with them and cared for them. The remains arrived on 9 May 1087. There are numerous variations of this account. In some versions those taking the relics are characterized as thieves or pirates, in others they are said to have taken them in response to avision wherein Saint Nicholas himself appeared and commanded that his relics be moved in order to preserve them from the impending Muslim conquest. Currently at Bari, there are two churches at his shrine, one Roman Catholic and one Orthodox.Sailors from Bari collected just half of Nicholas’ skeleton, leaving all the minor fragments in the grave. These were collected by Venetian sailors during the first crusade and brought to Venice, where a church to St. Nicholas, the patron of sailors, was built on the Lido. This tradition was confirmed in two scientific investigations of the relics in Bari and Venice, which revealed that the relics in the two cities belong to the same skeleton. Many churches in Europe, Russia and the United States claim to possess small relics, such as a tooth or a fingers.
Paradisepark, is a space falling in time, sea, ocean, life, love. Paradise Park is an installation started research 2011 and completed in 2014.
Paradise Park; is an installation of a dream–state, representing a space in between the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea and connected to a new hybrid globalized subject .A project influenced on immigrants, heritage and storytelling. At the same time, an allegory representing ideas and concepts.The installation is populated with sculptures , objet trouve ’ different species .Crosses between horses, birds, fishes, plants and human beings. Paradise park archives metaphors that effect lifes associated within a natural world ,human comparison and bird resemblance. Rotating Flora and floating Fauna species crossing in a solemn sound by Vangelis /La petite Fille de La mer (Early Girl From The Sea).Crossing over’ is a fiber sculpture with a heritage and story and a main character (Sikkepit 1964-1984).Paradise Park is a space that unites anecdotes in deep see water. A fantasy park where paradise transforms energy in between continents, specifying a cultural and visual language. My fascination with birds is seen in a floating work ‘ Japanse Nachtegaal’ or Japanese Nightingale. A medium size sculpture representing an inter familial hybrid (an extremely rare hybrid) .The plants are both threatening and vulnerable since its leaves a reach out above the viewer but has at the same time a delicate arrangement. The name Japanese nightingale is a reminder of a bird that stretches ,pitch and strain like a floor that has been walked upon. The exhibition highlights works that address notions of time, memory, displacement and harmony and the relationship between the human body and the material world. It took 2 years (2012-2014) to complete this artwork installation. OM
- 2013.9- 2014.3- 200 Jaar TROPISCH KONINKRIJK
Museum de Fundatie presenteert vanaf december 2013 in zijn vestiging in Zwolle, Paleis aan de Blijmarkt, de tentoonstelling ‘Tropisch Koninkrijk’. Deze expositie, georganiseerd naar aanleiding van de viering ‘200 JAAR KONINKRIJK’ geeft een overzicht van de actuele beeldende kunst van de zes Caribische eilanden die tot het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden behoren: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St.Maarten, Saba en Sint Eustatius. ‘Tropisch Koninkrijk’ beslaat een groot gedeelte van het Paleis aan de Blijmarkt, dat momenteel gesloten is in verband met een markante uitbreiding en zal worden heropend in mei 2013. Naast de gehele nieuwbouw (twee keer 400 m²), die momenteel op het dak van het neo-klassieke gebouw verrijst, zijn verschillende zalen van de 19de-eeuwse ‘oudbouw’ voor ‘Tropisch Koninkrijk’ gereserveerd. Het wordt de tweede grote expositie die te zien is in het heropende museum in de Zwolse binnenstad. Gastconservator van ‘Tropisch Koninkrijk’ is de kunsthistoricus en publicist Maarten Jager. Hij brengt op dit overzicht de laatste ontwikkelingen op kunstgebied uit de Caribische gebiedsdelen van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden onder de aandacht. De meest representatieve vertegenwoordigers van de verschillende kunstdisciplines zijn op de expositie vertegenwoordigd. Het gaat om internationaal georiënteerde Caribische, multiculturele schilder- en beeldhouwkunst, video, film, fotografie, keramiek en conceptuele kunst waaronder installaties. Hun kunst wordt met name in het Caribisch gebied zelf en in Midden-Amerika getoond, met name op de internationale biënnales van Santo Domingo en Cuba. Terwijl de expressieve kunst uit het Caribisch gebied veelal het lokale overstijgt, speelt de zoektocht van de bewoners naar de eigen identiteit een belangrijke rol in hun kunst. Voor de hand ligt de Afrikaanse en Indiaanse erfenis van de Caribische kunstenaars. Daarnaast manifesteert zich binnen de mix van culturen de invloed van Europa, Midden-Amerika en zelfs die van het Nabije Oosten, want in het bijzonder kunstenaars op Aruba hebben Libanese voorouders. Naast de diaspora, zijn de geschiedenis van de eilanden, mythen en gebruiken, religie en de huidige sociaal-politieke situatie belangrijke thema’s in de kunst van de Cariben. De 19 kunstenaars op ‘Tropisch koninkrijk’ gebruiken de meest uiteenlopende materialen. Van traditionele ’dragers’ als verf en brons tot sumpiñas (doornenstruiken), plastic afval en ander afgedankt materiaal. Een aantal kunstenaars is in het Nederlandse museale circuit inmiddels bekend, onder wie Yubi Kirindongo. Hij nam vorig jaar deel aan de internationale beeldenroute ‘ArtZuid’ in Amsterdam. Een overzicht van het werk van David Bade was in 2010 te zien in het museum voor actuele kunst GEM (Den Haag). Van zijn hand is ook de metershoge sculptuur van een ridder, getiteld ‘Ins Blaue’, die in september 2012 een plaats kreeg in de beeldentuin van Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Heino. Dit najaar nemen verschillende prominente Curaçaoenaars en Arubanen deel aan de tentoonstelling ‘Caribbean: Crossroads of the World’ in New York. Middels 500 kunstwerken wordt vier eeuwen Caribische kunst belicht. Aan deze expositie in El Museo del Barrio, het Queens Museum of Art en het Studio Museum ging tien jaar onderzoek vooraf. ‘PK Paarden Kracht – HP Horse Power Als de verbinding sterk is, slaan de motoren aan en begint de vlieg te draaien. Paarden kracht is een tentoonstelling die een modern onderzoek beleeft op het gebied van kunst en in kader van een historisch moment. Een vereniging waar Holland en Aruba een ontmoeting plaatsen doormiddel van een hernieuwbare energie ‘ Paarden. Arubanen en Nederlanders handelden met paarden vanaf de 1700 eeuw,geleidelijk er meer immigranten zich vestigden op het eiland, waaronder ook Oost-Europese Joden en Libanezen. Zij hadden de eerste particuliere ondernemingen in Aruba.Het werdt voorgesteld als een visuele reis door een variëteit van fantasierijke werelden gecreëerd op creativiteit en expressieve talen.Een hybridisatie – een kruising van kennis en openstellen van productieve voorwaarden , overeenkomsten , medeleven en passie van kennis, concurrentievermogen, culturele innovatie en efficiëntie bevordering. Het onderwerp van het werk is een eerbetoon aan de ‘Paardenbaai’ Oranjestad Aruba ,waar de burger en de sociale koophandelaars hun werelden begonnen.Het was een omarming van Paarden geest en energie die zijn edele en kostbare kracht en vrijheid spreekt bij een groot bijdragen en aan een versterking van samenwerking en een hybride culturele beschaving .Het werk wil met het publiek een reis maken door culturele contexten ,historische relaties en vooruitzichten. De PK werd geboren uit de allure van mijn prive-leven en studio.De instalatie bestaat uit een ruimte voorzien van kunstwerken, in de vorm van object trouve ‘, videowerk, fotografie ,sculpture en text met inspiratie over persoonlijk en historisch vastgestelde boeiende verhalen . Aruba is een eiland met een rijke geschiedenis, bewoond door archeologische resten en architectonische monumenten. De ideale plek voor het onderzoeken van de relatie tussen erfgoed en het geheugen. Video -landschap inventaris, loop / verzameling digitale beelden 2002/2013,correctie en desoriëntatie. Object trouve ‘- Paradijs park, verzameling 1995-2013, opgeslagen erfgoed fotografie-kruispuzzel , Een hybridisatie – een kruising van kennis en openstellen van productieve voorwaarden , overeenkomsten , medeleven en passie van kennis, concurrentievermogen, culturele innovatie en efficiëntie bevordering. sculptuur / hybride collectie – Cabai blouw, life size objet trouve ‘. Paarden kracht onderzoek beleeft op het gebied van kunst en in kader van een historisch moment. Een vereniging waar Holland en Aruba een ontmoeting plaatsen doormiddel van een hernieuwbare energie.OM
2012 Encuentro Biennale Aruba place: Free Zone Aruba Curator : Dr. Jose Manuel Noceda Fernandez Title: I m not white, not black, but blue Concept: Hybrid identity in post colonial Time 1. Titulo; min ta blanco, ni preto, pero blauw (papiamento) 2. Titel; ben niet wit, niet zwart maar blauw (dutch) 3. Titulo; no soy blanco, ni negro ,pero azul (espanol) 4. Title; I am not white, not black, but blue (english) 5. العنوان، لا أبيض، أسود r، ولكن الزرقاء (arabic) 1. Contepto; Identidad hibrida,cu ken bo ta identifica bo mes? 2. Concept; Hybride identiteiten, ‘Wie vertegenwoordigt u eigenlijk?’ 3. Concepto; Identidades híbridas, “¿Quién te identificas más?” 4. Concept; Hybrid identities, “Who represents you?” 5.المفهوم: الهويات الهجين “الذي يمثل لك؟5” 1. Kiko ta indentidad?, e ta algo indefini y por ta crea confusion;e por ta un hancra,pero tambe un bruhamento.identidad ta algo dificil pa alcansa. 2. Wat is identiteit?, Het is on definieerbaar en kan verwarring scheppen; ze kan een houvast zijn, maar ook vervreemding betekenen. Identiteit is een ongrijpbaar iets. 3. ¿Qué es la identidad?, Es indefinible y puede ser confuso, pueden ser un faro, pero también significa la alienación. La identidad es algo difícil de alcanzar . 4. What is identity?, It is indefinable and can be confusing, they can be a beacon, but also alienation mean. Identity is an elusive something. 5.ما هو الهوية؟ أنها لا يمكن تعريفها ويمكن أن يكون مربكا، فإنها يمكن أن تكون منارة، ولكن يعني أيضا التغريب. الهوية.ي .يء بعيد المنال In the 19th century the word Hybrid was used to refer to a physiological phenomenon, is reactivated in the 20th century to describe a cultural one. The 1828 Webster defined a hybrid as ‘a mongrel or mule; an animal or plant produced from the mixture of two species’. It is only in the 1861 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) that it is first used to denote the crossing of people of different ‘cultures’, thus marking the acceptance of the possibility of human hybrids. This journey of my life, been born in Aruba, Dutch Caribbean with mixed cultures and heritage. Wondering for an identity. Does an identity exist ? The question is ,if i realize my identity will i be happy, shall the world be happier.What is happiness ? The 19th /20th century debate on hybridism is a central issue of debate in the social sciences today. The term ‘hybrid’ mixed cultures,was applied from botany to anthropology and was associated with both political and scientific speculations on ‘races’ as species or subspecies. The acknowledgment of the common humanity of all ‘races’ strengthened the separation between culture and nature as part and parcel of the project of Modernity. Been searching on identity for a while and my recent work ‘hybrid identity ‘I am not white, not black, but blue’, relates from a Post Colonial background. Living through the different years 1940.2020. New century 1210 and till today 2012. Been born in Aruba and lived my whole life here.While traveling allot especially for my work while growing up in between Cultural gabs.With a mixed complex background of speaking and being Aruban, Dutch, Lebanese. Speaking Spanish, Papiamento, English and Dutch. Searching common ground. Always searching for my identity, with a co-result of understanding hope, happiness ,love, trust and peace. – a mix of ‘blood’ and culture. The Post-colonial theory addresses the matters of post-colonial identity (cultural, national, ethnic), gender, race, and racism, and their interactions in the development of a post-colonial society, and of a post-colonial national identity; of how a colonized people (cultural) knowledge was used against them, in service of the colonizer’s interests and of how knowledge about the world is generated under specific socio-economic relations, between the powerful and the powerless. Identity politics comprise the perspectives of the colonial subjects, his and her creative resistance to the colonizer’s culture and how that resistance psychologically complicated the imperial-colony project for the Dutch Caribbean/ European man and woman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybridity In my recent work there will be no common forms and no identity. A production of humans, plants and animals together as one. Time and Memory is in charge of the space. om Hybris and monsters by Miguel Vale de Almeida, ‘longing for one self Hybridism and Miscegenation colonial and postcolonial Portugal and more. The Dicionário Moraes of 1891 refers to hybrido as originating in the Greek hybris, defined as ‘an animal generated by two species. Irregular, anomalous, monstrous’. Hybridação is the ‘production of hybrid plants or animals’ and hybridez is the ‘quality (…) of that which is composed of two different species in grammar it is used to refer to ‘words compounded from two different languages’. The same dictionary does not have an entry for miscigenação, but it does for mestiço, from the Latin mixtus, defined as ‘that which proceeds from parents of different race or species: e.g. among men (sic) the mulato, the cafusa, etc.; among animals, the mule etc. It is also used to refer to some grafted plants, e.g. rosas mestiças’. In the Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (1977 [1952]), we learn that the Greek root hybris defines ‘excess, all that exceeds measure; pride, insolence; excessive ardor, impetuousness, exaltation; outrage, insult, offence; violence over woman or child; via the Latin hybrida to designate the product of the crossing between the sow and the wild boar; the child of parents from different regions or conditions, probably via the French hybride.’ In the same dictionary one can already find an entry for miscigenação, ‘from the English miscegenation, which came from the Latin miscere, ‘to mix’ + genus, ‘race’.After 1960 miscigenar is said to mean simultaneously ‘to procreate hybrids’and ‘to procreate mestiços’. Mestiço is said to come from the Castillian mistizo,which comes from the Late Latin mixticiu. As a complement to this list of definitions, we can also find that the word mulato comes from ‘…mulo (male ‘Longing for Oneself’ 183 mule) + –ato (as in cervato, lobato)’. According to literary examples used in the entry, one can infer (although not prove) that it is in the 1500s – the ‘Age of Discoveries’ – that the animal reference is replaced by a human one.If one uses the several entries in the Dicionário de Sinónimos from Porto Editora, a constellation of meanings connecting these different expressions can be traced: Híbrido: ambígeno, anómalo, irregular, mestiço, monstruoso (…) Mestiçagem: hibridismo, mestiçamento, miscigenação (…) Mestiço: bode, caboclo, cabra, carafuzo, cariboca, híbrido, mesclado, misto, mulato (…) Mulato: bode, cabra, cabranaz, cabrito, cabrocha, caporro, escuro, fulo, mestiço, moreno, mu, mulo, pardo, trigueiro (…) Mulata: cabrita, china, mestiça, mista, morocha, mula, trigueira (Dicionário de Sinónimos). Reference: Research on this theme hybridism identity, s.a. theory of Canclini and his work of and life of Santiago, that he concludes that nationality of Puertorican is fruit of the asendance of Taina+European+African. The Emergence of Hybrid Organizational Forms: Combining Identity-Based Service, Provision and Political Action, Debra C. Minkoff, University of Washington.“From miscegenation to Creole Identity: Portuguese Colonialism, Brazil, Cape Verde”, in Creolization: History, Ethnography, Theory. C. Stewart (ed.), Walnut Creek, CA, Left Coast Press, pp 108-132.2007. Miguel Vale de Almeida, ‘longing for one self Hybridism and Miscegenation colonial and postcolonial Portugal and much more. Contemporary rhetoric (is the art of discourse ) on hybrid as part of globalization, trans- nationality, postcolonial diasporas, and multiculturalism – clashes with the reality of the return of ‘race’ within a cultural fundamentalism. Miguel Vale de Almeid.
- 2012 Salon 2, Flower Castle, Lisse, Netherlands – I never promised you a rose garden.
- 2010 Salon 1, popup La Linda and studiO- Silhouette
- Curated by Gijs Stork independent Art Curator Netherlands Angelo Tromp, Art People.
- 2003, 14th international electronic art festival /video Brasil Associacao Video Brasil” Brasil, Sao Paulo, Curated Chriz Cozier, Charlotte Elias CCA7. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Project only beautiful words is an ongoing light installation with text created by interviewing the local community. It investigates the relationship between light, space and memory. The project has been invited and installed in several locations. Aruba, Miami, New York, Lebanon, Nepal and Ecuador. It is a catalyst, suggesting public communication, community solidarity and collective consciousness. ’I always thought that every one is the same’- The immigrant Public Art installation -light sign 2002-2003 L.G.Smith Blvd # 30, Oranjestad, Aruba Concept – The immigrant. If each human being is an individual with a complete network of senses of his own and a special combination of abilities, then the vision of each human being will be different, and the way in which each individual determines his life will be a unique interpretation. Captured in the complexity of civilization, man often loses sight of his human destination. The artist not only records the physical data of his own being, but has to act as an interpreter, a translator of human experience. Art functions as diagnosis, definition, and standard for human life. This work is a very important statement, because these words I have always heard through my life. These words come from my mother’s heart, she had always thought me these words, “everybody is the same” I have always lived these words. Until I have experienced and discovered through life that this is not the truth. I used the language English, as it is the first universal language. ’Yo siempre pense que cada uno es igual’- Numbers as tools Public Art installation -light sign 2004 8th Bienal de Cuencar, Banco de Fomento, Ecuador Concept – Numbers are tools. Humanity’s fascination with numbers is ancient and complex. Our present relationship with numbers reveals both a highly developed tool and a highly developed user, working together to measure, create and predict both ourselves and the world around us. But like every symbiotic couple, the tool we would like to believe is separate from us (and thus objective) is actually an intricate reflection of our thoughts, interest, and capabilities. One intriguing result of this symbiosis is that the numeric system we use to describe patterns is actually used in a patterns fashion to describe. In learning how to abstract, we learn that all information is potentially expressive in numbers. One consequence of abstraction is that we must ignore the individual characteristics of entities we abstract. Apart from the existence of the numeric system and numbers, individual numbers have no meaning. Thus, our number system is seen as an objective tool-a tool that does not reflect human preference, emotion, or inconsistency. As such it is a tool used not to express ourselves, but is reserved only to describe the world around us. We do not write poetry with numbers, nor do we express our personal doubts or prejudices through them…except as our humanity is projected onto the emotionless toil of mathematical proof, ledger balances, or pedagogical exercises. Herein I return analyses to the public in the form of an interactive visualization, whose aim is to provoke awareness of one’s own numeric manifestations. I always thought that every one is the same’- New religion Public space installation ‘light sign ‘on building Studio Beirut- Gemmayzeh-Rue Gouraud Beyruoth Lebanon Teoretica, exposicion ‘iconofagia , Costa Rica Aug –Sept 2007 Photographer: Frederic Lezmi Concept- New religion, Light used with a purpose; ‘psycho linguistics’ a free word order language’ psychological and phonological language in public space. Where there is light, certainly there is darkness also. What is darkness? Absence of light. When you don’t recognize the light, you see Darkness. What is dark to you is bright to a cat or tiger or a bat. It’s all relative and when you have one, you have the other also. You cannot only have one side of the coin. But the moment that you know that darkness is part of the whole, it is not darkness anymore. The real darkness lies in your ignorance of what it is. Your not knowing is the darkness. The minute you know, you respect both sides, and it’s no longer darkness. Don’t we respect both day and night? We want both day and night. Night makes the day complete. Pleasure and pain are also two sides of the same coin. If you only want pleasure and hate pain, you become miserable. After one, the other is certain to follow. When it comes and you don’t want it, you fight it. Instead, we must recognize that life is like that. If someone is nice to you and you demand that he or she must always be nice to you, always respect you, then you are seeing only one side. If the other side comes, you deny the person, you hate the person. You should know that the other side will also be there. Love that person for the other side also. Then you are in a different light where there is no darkness at all. That is what you call collective light. That light is not like the light that casts a shadow, that light is a shadow less light. Once you go into that state, you will see the light and darkness, but you respect them both. I always thought that every one is the same’- New language Public space installation /neon sign Nepal, Siddhartha Art gallery 2009 Exhibition The Myth and the Reality’ Concept: New language, How many spaces are in between a sentence How many years does it take to see what you want to listen How many hours does a day have to carry all the invisible How many minutes does it take to explode How many seconds are there in a lifetime “The title for my installation ‘I always thought that every one is the same’ is self-explanatory, love rarely comes easily and if it does, it usually goes quite quickly and there is death, and loss, which at some point in our lives we all have to deal with. I’m constantly fighting with the notion of love. Always searching the gab that love can fill when it‘s not there. I have to constantly remind myself that no matter what the circumstances, love is not a feeling but a decision. The goal of my work is to re-live the past and today’s emotions. My Art is the space between my language and the invisible world. It allows me to re=experience fear, to give it a physicality. That the moment has gone by, but the space is filled with visual memoirs. I am saying in my work that what I could not make out in the past, allows me to re-experience the past, to see the past in its objective and realistic proportions. That fear is a passive state and the goal is to be active and in control, to be alive to deal with here and today. As my brain experiences the duality of subjective and objective, my sense of beauty swings between the two, space and language. I am torn between the two, and I have learned to accept them both. Through the years this space has been transforming in shapes and forms. This space has allowed me to see and understand the unable mess to make myself loved. I am still motivated by an attraction to ‘the other’ which is a mysterious beauty, it allowed me to reach the level of my soul and spirit. As per today I can make this statement, I need Art like I need God (Tracey Emin). Love is in the Air – Moving energy Public space installation / Light-sign on building Invitation project AIR ART by the Aruba Airport Authority (AAA) Queen Beatrix International Airport Aruba 2012 The Airport is the official door, to enter and leave Aruba. Once I worked at the airport because my family is into the Airport business. As I have noticed that the energy at the airport is higher than at another place, especially working with small deadlines tasks, I realized that it was not a place where I could work for long as my family does. That’s because the level of pressure is to high and my adrenaline was in a constant overdrive. When you are working on the ground it gave me the same feeling I was going to travel in an airplane. It give that sensation of an unbalanced sensation. I thought well I am going to make something that will make me feel or will make someone who may feel also this unbalanced sensation a better or more peaceful energy. At this same moment I thought of Love , love in the Air , love must be in the Air, Love is in the Air. Love is the only feeling that produce immediate peace. As for my surprise this text has a moving version to. Love is the Air song by Barry White. So instead of feeling fear going in the sky, you will see this text and the love will stay with you Moving into your mind body and soul. Artwork ‘Abo ta Ami’ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2014 April 18, 2014 – September 17, 2014 2012 Caribbean Crossroads of the World PAMM Perez Art museum Miami ,1103 Biscayne Blvd.
Museo Del Barrio, Manhattan Fifth ave, New York Project Caribbean Crossroads of the World Curated by Elvis Fuentes and Susy del Valle www.caribbeancrossroads.org Invitation by Tobias Ostrander Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs Following credit line-Curatorial Team Maria Elena Ortiz Curatorial Assistant, Elvis Fuentes Programmer Curator Crossroads Project, Oriol Tarridas Photography, Installation view Photo by Orial Tarridas Caribbean Crossroads of the World, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Naomi Patterson, Senior Registrar Renwick Heronimo, logistics outsourcing from Washington to Miami, Osaira Muyale Aruban Artist The theme of Patriot Acts studies. ”Cultural Identity; Patriot Acts studies the idea that artists and intellectuals in the Caribbean were instrumental in the creation of the identity, both visual and conceptual, of the young Caribbean nations, which often pitted traditional, academic aesthetics against the “authentic,” indigenous and African past of the region. Artist Project; Only Beautiful Words 2002-2014. Light Text/Poem in Native Language ‘Papiamento’ written in 2011.Concept: How language can transform space and time and influence Cultural identities by several different factors such as religion, ancestry, skin color, language, class, education, profession, skill, family and political attitudes. These factors contribute to the development of ones identity. Language develops from the wants of the people who tend to spread themselves in a common given location over a particular period of time. This tends to allow people to share a way of life that generally links individuals in a certain culture that is identified by the people of that group. The affluence of communication that comes along with sharing a language promotes connections and roots to ancestors and cultural histories. Language also includes the way people speak with peers, family members, authority figures, and strangers. Language learning process can also be affected by cultural identity via the understanding of specific words, and the preference for specific words when learning and using a second language. Since many aspects of a person’s cultural identity can be changed, such as citizenship or influence from outside cultures can change cultural traditions, language is a main component of cultural identity. Cultural identity is the process of exploration and questioning about one’s culture in order to learn more about it and to understand the implications of being in that culture.” During this stage a person will begin to question why they hold their beliefs and compare it to the beliefs of other cultures. Such as being born in Aruba and have a Dutch Passport and heritage. For some this stage may arise from a turning point in their life or from a growing awareness of other cultures. This stage is characterized by growing awareness in social and political forums and a desire to learn more about culture. This can be expressed by asking family members questions about tradition, history ,past , background. This stage might have an emotional component as well. Cultural identity achievement: “is characterized by a clear, confident acceptance of oneself and an internalization of one’s cultural identity.” In this stage i allow the acceptance of my cultural identity and how to deal with hybrid stereotypes, any discrimination and approach negative perceptions, s.a. rejection, repulse, disavowal or non-acceptance. This usually leads to an increase in self-confidence and positive psychological adjustment. For more infomation search: www.pamm.org Abo ta ami.You are me Abo Ta e tempo cu ta surpasa mi bista You are the time that surpasses my vision Abo ta e aire cu ta sostene mi curpa You are the air that sustains my body Abo ta e brisa cu ta rondona mi alma You are the breeze that surrounds my soul Abo ta e awa cu ta corre den mi wowo You are the water that runs in my eyes Abo ta e color cu ta carisia mi pensamento You are the color that caresses my thoughts Abo ta e luz cu ta brilla tur momento You are the light that shines all moment Abo ta e alegria cu conocemi You are the happiness that knows me Abo ta ami You are me
2003 V Caribbean Museum of Modern Art Santo Domingo curated by Marianna de Tolentino and Sara Hermann
2001 TenT Gallery Rotterdam, Holland. Curated by Dr. Adi Martis, Jennifer smith, Thomas Mejier Zu Schlochteren project Beeldende Kunst van de Nederlandse Antillen en Aruba.
21 Sept-12 Oct 2000, “Watamula” Instalation on Curacao. Title, ‘bathing me, bathing you’/ The blue reservoir Medium, installation-video/performance-objet trouve’ Size, 8 x 7 x 3 meter – 37 minutes By choosing the water reservoir which was used to ferment indigo plant ,I expressed the use of water as a metaphor for soothing the past, washing away the pain, and to understand life. Life is like a theater script but with real individuals. When a backpack was found in the reservoir with stolen belongings of a homosexual mixed race couple (including intimate photographs). Their life crossed path with mine and we were bound together by fate and by this location with all its historical connotation. This event of real life reflects the view of art as an agent of revelation, where history and architecture becomes the symbolic mediator. The process that got an additional boost by this change encounter evolved into a ritualistic bath where I submerged myself in my needs to go beyond the limits beyond my fears and to submerge myself in the exchange of unconditional love.It was a declaration of love for my white homosexual friend and the submission to the sensual love of my black friend. By using myself as a medium for love to be transmitted unconditionally I learned a great lesson of love which is selflessness. A letter to Sharlon. As the days went by, You listened like a lullaby, Your tender words, Your tender eyes, O,God I said, This is a friend goodnight, Your skin so dye, My eyes closed shy, I will never forget, and tell you, Good by, For the silence, You shared, The trust so divine, Me for the lessons y shared, i wished,You, for the love to forgive, Thank you my friend, You showed me now, You showed me how. A letter to Wilson. As the days went by, You were like an angel, Walking in the sky, So, beautiful, so divine O, God , I said, This is a friend goodnight, Your skin so pale, My heart a butterfly, I only wished I lonely cried, I only thought, I hoped and tried, You be the one, Another time, May life forgive May life can give, one soul, one mind, one body, A wish, Thank you my friend, You showed me now, You showed me how.
- 1998 To my friend no.11 Lips, Sticks & Marks, Spiral Gallery Barbados
- Curated by visual artists, Annelee Davis and Jocelyn Gardner. Art Foundry Trinidad curated by visual artists, Jocelyn Gardner, Annelee Davis and Irene Shaw.-
Biennale de Havana Cuba, Instalation ‘SILENCE’. by Gijs Stork, M.A., Art Historian and Critic, Director. An ear is an emotionally charged symbol. Because we receive the Word through the ear. It often represents Faith. In Christian semantics, the ear will often be the symbol by which the Holy Ghost, the dove, makes the announcement to the Holy Virgin. In this case, the ear is the part of the body that makes Maria aware of her unspeakable happiness. Furthermore, it also symbolizes the woman as well as daughters. Consequently, with this the ear gets an erotic connotation as well. A magnificent sound has an immediate effect on each part of the body as a sensory experience and yet the ear in Osaira Muyale’s oeuvre only remains are requisite of the imaginative power. It has a metaphorical meaning, which not only gives cause for observation, but also for deeper associations. Here too, it is clear that is no such a thing as the key to knowing the underlying meaning. The function of intuition is more important. An ear and listening is a mayor theme in contemporary art. Contrary to the works of, say, jan Fabre at Documenta IX and Douglas Gordon at the exposition Entre- Deux in Brussels, Osaira does not attempt to hear the unknown or the “outside”, but the tales of the public. She attempts to let the inner voice speak; to make the suppressed feelings revive. It is not surprising that listening has become a theme in a time in which the hectic life makes that nobody actually has the time to listen anymore. There are more and more souls crying and wandering in the wilderness of new media, fast television footage and 1.000 megabeats per second. Osaira Muyale listens indirectly to the people of Cuba. A work of art has to make the 1.000 voices of silent grief sound. And so, within the theme of the biennale “The individual and his memory”, Muyale Performs an act in which she considers the public as an individual, and wants to let the memory of a past speak. But speaking takes the form of listening, listening to the inner voice. A descent in your own deepest inner self, from where the voice of the unconscious will speak. Therefore, the ear is also comparable with the eye. Both are the carriers of the experience to the memory. For Osaira Muyale personal experience and memory is the most important theme in her works. The experience she tries to concretize and communicate to the spectator, by means of images that thrust themselves upon her in fragments. Experience of life she tries to translate into sculptures. Art that is not about art, or creating art, art not created to please, it rather repels, but art about the experience of the artist, art about life itself. They are translated into sculptures and presented as such. Here too, the fact that the dove and the ear were brought together in early symbolism, can be considered special; the dove brings the message, but also peace. A sign that gives the ear a positive meaning. A meaning also needed to survive, with all the experiences, positive or negative, a human being goes through in his life.
An ongoing project that delves into the psychology of repeating mechanism and triggers personal memory. It invites the audience to fill the gap between visualizing a traditional dance and a dance that has no tradition. 13 august 2007 .‘Silhouette’. Story by Osaira Muyale, Beiruth Lebanon, Arriving at the G,auille airport in France, I start wondering what is it that i am looking for in Beirut ,Lebanon ,the pearl of the eastern hemisphere , as it has been calling me all along, from deep within. Serhel, the elevated wall.where Alexander Muyale and maria la Tuff joined their life together and forever. This is where Antonio Muyale la tuff was born, Aruba an island in the Caribbean sea. Watching the tequila sign, one morning 8;59 am ,as I jumped out of my red bed to start writing on this beautiful journey of love. Why a journey of love ,I ask myself, I do not know either. i just write as my red finger nails watch my eyes writing on a with piece of paper. a green tree ,in the middle of a red line and white borders. scratching my feet ,that have not been bitten by moskitos. also wondering how could these walls have been painted ,as the ceiling is very high, maybe 10 meters. half through the room, with a furnished mantra pattern tile, looking outside in this with finished wooden window,where mr. Habash just left his balcony to go back inside .tequila ,yes that’s what is hanging out of my room window. beer is what I drank last night at express bar, a place where you can not move your body,only your eyes.my eyes kept rolling to all the corners of a small long space filled with fog and cigarettes, wet lips ,kissing each other,as if there was no end neither mouth. Going back at my room at 1;00.i thought hm..it’s going to be hot again,after taking a bath and drops up my body ,I could feel how there was no end of staying wet .as I lay in bed,I thought just as last night, it will get cooler ,and in the morning when I wake up ,I can reinforce this statement, because I’am not sweaty any more and there exists this cool air but only in the morning. When I wake up, my body starts to feel cooler, as the breeze starts to get accustomed with the room temperature. Noisy in the street,cars,hunks,talking and screaming people ,serene’s,hard engines,going up and down,.it’s morning ,a day to start,a party ago.it’s fry day! I see that everyone has a split unit hanging on the wall.i wish I could feel this breeze of coolness soon. I am going to make coffee and wanted to visit the metadox church,in the street,until 12 it’s open.
An ongoing project that collect circles, confront ideas on conceptual and abstract perspectives. It imply movement and symbolize the cycle of time and of everything that moves. It represents the notion of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness, all cycle movement. ‘CIRCLE’ collection 2004-2005 consists of paintings, mixed media creations, multi media installations and video work. It address psychological and emotional vulnerabilities in a post- modern context. A circle is an universal symbol with extensive meaning. It represent the notion of totality, wholeness, original perfection, the self, the infinite, eternity, timelessness, all cyclic movement God ( ‘God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere’ Hermes Trismegistus). As the sun, it is masculine power, as the soul and as encircling waters it is the feminine maternal principle. ”It implies an idea of movement and symbolizes the cycle of time ,the perpetual motion of everything that moves ,the planets’ journey around the sun (the circles of the zodiac), the great rhythm of the universe. The circle is also zero in our system of numbering and symbolizes potential, or the embryo .It has a magical value as a protective agent, and indicates the end of the process of individuation, of striving towards a psychic wholeness and self-realization Spectrum. prof.dr Hans Biedermann. CIRCLES /Project : a room for tree. dialogue between heaven and earth. osaira Muyale in conversation. To believe and understand that this is a journey a process and not a destination a receiving of a final solution winning a award certificate. I appreciate and live the chance and change in my hereditary history custom. If the heritage, the culture, the system I live in does not work, I have to make my new culture. Because of this journey , I have the opportunity to explore myself and try to understand the unknown, to continue with the known and thank God for the opportunity of conclusion. I believe that the universal system, the way it works and the way it is going ,depends on each of us. I am carrying the universe in my brain, heart and soul. If I can carry a free mind, a free soul and a free heart ,I will work with free hands. No system can function if I have to live with patterns that will not and is not giving a result, I will stay unhappy. And therefore not understanding “time and space” I can see it in all the universal system I am living in. With all the modern patterns humankind has not become better, all the advancements in technology, education, religion, government. It has all the same way of searching, following a system or a priest, president, doctor, teacher, guru, father, mother,….. Believing that only learning the external part of the humankind in this earthly life and not the internal soul of this galaxy. The living emotional space that is not being understood, it is considered war of the brain , because humanity don’t understand the difference between outer and inner search of the being. We has to have a constant control of our heart, emotions. Love is considered out of the ordinary, being separated is loyalty and being honest is not progress. I have to be strong all the time, understand and accept whatever I don’t believe in, the rules and regulation of modern decadence. Believing that through independence and communication you can get to a whole new system and that is the system of your own believe. Making a conclusion of this real/unreal life and then from there on try to understand and learn from it. Learn like you have never been hurt. From there on you can follow a system with a better view of mind and spirit. With a open heart that understands and receive and share the knowledge and wisdom of giving love. The most important things of life I have to find out for myself, and that is through time and vision, through accepting my faults and why I do them. I did not learn in school how to deal with love, why… That’s why I believe that the bureaucratic universal systems is loosing its contact with human force. Force of the spirit, force of eternal love. If I could understand this from the moment I was born, there would be a better space for the unknown, for the not acceptance of the evil, because evil is a simple word for fear that has been transformed in anger in our mind, heart and soul. This eternal force called love can let me understand my senses, and why I use them unconditionally with awareness. In a not trusting society there exist a system of not seeing, not hearing, not smelling, not tasting, not feeling not communicating and therefore not loving. And therefore no relationship with another. Listen to yourself ,to listen to another. The circles of life- Seek and you will find, clean ,look, investigate, understand, try, accept, forgive, give, and love eternal love , that goes from eternity to eternity. “Circle within” It is not about winning, it, s about opening up It is feeling free of the mind, soul and heart It is about sharing, inspiring, giving It is about unconditional love It is about loving yourself It is about loving God It is about loving your worse enemy It is about understanding evil It is about loving everything It is about trusting yourself It is about trusting others It is about using your brain It is about patience It is about communicating It is about cleansing your soul It is about respect It is about closer to one another It is about discipline It is about sweat and tears to reach for the golden stars in heaven It is about beautiful words. OM
Project God-Dog Titulo, “When I woke up, you were gone”/ film 3 min, projecto God-doG osaira muyale den conversacion ; Mi interes den arte ta solamente arte cu por cambia un ideologia di un sociedad. E ego ta e obstaculo mas grandi pa e artista. esaki ta e morto pa e artista.Arte cu tin solamente valor estetico ta incompleto. Den mi opinion e artista mester ta responsabel y no por ta simplemente contento cu e valor estetico. Un trabao di arte ta pa sirbie sociedad.esey ta su rol .Mi ta kere ta hopi egoista di un artista cu ta sinta den su studio y no ta worry cu kiko ta pasando rond di nan..bo no ta traha arte solamente pabo mes,claro cu esaki ta parti di dje, pero asina cu un trabao a termina e ta parti di sociedad.esaki ta nos responsabilidad. Mi trabao ta basa riba mi cultura.Mi cultura ta mixto, cu esaki mi kiermen ta cu ,mi tata ta nasi na aruba, desendiente lebanes y spano, mi mama ta nasi na hulanda bibando 40 ana na aruba.Y ami mes ta nasi na aruba y bibando pa 39 ana aki,Tur dos mi mayornan ta katholico di nacemento.mi tata pafor di misa, mi mama paden di misa.Asina ta cu for di mucha mi mente tawata tin tur sorto di ideanan mixto.For di mucha mi ta admira justicia y bunitesa , mi tata tawata un architecto y mi bisawelo pa parti di mi mama tawata un escultor .asina ta e manera di pensa den nos famia tawata cu hopi libertad mental y cu un disiplina katholico orthodox.Mi a cuminsa cu theather mi a bai un academia di arte den exterior y a sigiu cu pintamento, ora pintura no a satisfasemi completo mas, mi a cuminsa cu installacion ,mi a cuminsa i husa mi curpa como un material den e instalation.esaki tawata dificil riba Aruba , como cu ta pintura so tawata e methodo di arte .Un obstaculo grandi cu mi ta tin ora mi a yega exterior tawata mi libertad, mi a wordo lanta cu hopi restriction.E storia cu e titulo GoddoG ta, un storia cu ta basa riba e responsabilidad y protection di cada individuo pa bo Ser. Ser humano y Ser spiritual.Un ta pasobra bo ta biba riba un pais cu tin un systema democratico, kiermen cu bo tin derecho pa hasi loque bo mente humano ta pensa.unta pasobra nos pais ta democratico kiermen cu e universo ta democratico.Unta pasobra abo tin un ideologia kiermen cu un otro tin pa asepte y unta pasobra un otro tin un ideologia abo mester asepte.awor,si ta cu tur e differente opinionan aki ,ta rekeri un cos ,y esey ta comunication verbal riba e nivel cu cada persona por comprende e ideologia cu pa e momento ey ta e diferencia di opinion. No ta e diferencia di opinion mester ta e obstaculo den un systema ,ta e responsabilidad di por scucha otro y comprende otro su manera di pensa, pa por yuda orto cu e manera di pensa ey y pa yuda otro di bai dilanti cu e resultado di e opinionnan cu mester a trece un solution mutuo.Sino bo ta hana cu tin destruction enves di construction.un forma pa trece un solution permanente tin mas calidad y bondad cu un solution temporal.Comunication verbal ta di suma importancia, pa por comprende kiko ta pasando, si tin desunion rabia of cualkier sentimiento emoional incorrecto, ta pasobra e sintimiento no a wordo verbalisa of comunica debidamente y honestamente.Si cada individuo kier hiba su Ser , su pais y su universo dilanti, mester por comunica esaki riba un manera honesto y bunita.Un cacho ta e bestia mas fiel na su amigo, e ta apreciabo ,e ta stimabo y nunca e lo lagabo na caya Mi tin tres cacho , Coco Chanel , Gucci , y Tanka.